[Avodah] Are "Gedolim Stories" Good for Chinuch?

[Prof. Levine]

The following is one small selection from the article at 
http://tinyurl.com/29y7utt by Rabbi Simcha Feuerman.

This article is not the first about some the negative aspects of 
Gedolim books. Rabbi Aharon Feldman wrote about this topic in an 
article that appeared in the Jewish Observer in 1994.  Please see the 
article at http://www.yutorah.org/showShiur.cfm?shiurID=704426 pages 
213 - 214 for what Rabbi Dr. J. J. Schacter wrote about Rabbi 
Feldman's comments.

The following comments by Rabbi Feuerman were for me particularly 
striking, because they relate to a famous story about one of my "heroes."

Another one of the chinuch dangers of disconnection from feelings is 
an estrangement from our gut instincts in favor of strict adherence 
to technical ethical principles.  This is an abandonment of what is 
sometimes referred to as "the fifth volume of Shulhan Arukh".  No 
system can function without using common sense to mediate and 
moderate between the dictates and principles of the system and how to 
apply them.

Related to this point, I have noticed a strange phenomenon in regard 
to certain inspirational stories. Typically, the story will go 
something like this: So and so, a great sage, despite his high 
stature did an amazing kindness for someone of lower perceived social 
status.  For example, we have the famous story about Rav Yisrael 
Salanter who went to hold a crying baby on Yom Kippur eve during Kol 
Nidre, or the story of how Rav Moshe Feinstein ran after a gentile 
delivery boy to make sure he received his dollar tip.

Of course these stories model acts of compassion and decency, and 
deserve recognition.  Sadly though, I fear there is a hidden and 
subtle message of surprise being conveyed along with these stories, 
as they suggest that basic human compassion and decency is an 
astounding ethical feat.  After all, who would not show the basic 
decency of giving an expected tip, or who could be cold-hearted 
enough to ignore the cries of a baby on Kol Nidre night -- or any 
night for that matter?  So what is the real message here?  Either we 
are surprised to see great people behave in a human and kindhearted 
manner, or we consider it to be an act that only a true tzaddik can 
achieve. [5] Whichever message you choose, I submit for your 
consideration that this kind of thinking is a product of a culture 
that has difficulty embracing the full passion of its emotions when 
seen through the lens of Torah thought.  Because, in the light of 
stone-cold Torah analysis without being informed by a sense of 
compassion, one might erroneously decide that praying is more 
important than responding to the cries of an infant, or that being 
sensitive to the needs of a poor delivery boy is irrelevant.  And 
indeed, halakha must trump emotions.  However no proper conclusion 
can be reached without consulting with all "five" volumes of  Shulhan 
Arukh.  Our chinuch messages must take that into account.


[5] Echoes of this sentiment can be found in R. Kook's words in 
Shemonah Kevatzim 1:463, (translation mine):

"The folk who live according to their instincts, and are not learned, 
are actually superior in many respects to the learned folk.  In 
particular, their instinctive common sense decency and morality was 
not corrupted by the intricate, wearying and too-clever burdens of 
scholarship." (I thank Marc B. Shapiro and the Seforim Blog for this 
reference.)

There is much food for thought, at least for me, here.  YL



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